People v. Thomas CA2/6

DISCUSSION

When an appellate counsel finds no arguable issues in an appeal from the denial of a postconviction request for relief, we are not required to conduct an independent review of the record. (See Delgadillo, supra, 14 Cal.5th at pp. 224-231.) We give the defendant the opportunity to file his or her own supplemental brief and we then evaluate any specific arguments raised. (Id. at pp. 231-232.) Thomas has submitted supplemental briefing. However, we lack jurisdiction to decide his claims on appeal. (King, supra, 77 Cal.App.5th at p. 634.)

2 Generally, “ ‘once a judgment is rendered and execution of the sentence has begun, the trial court does not have jurisdiction to vacate or modify the sentence.’ ” (King, supra, 77 Cal.App.5th 634.) If the court does not have jurisdiction to rule on such a motion, an order denying it is nonappealable, and any appeal should be dismissed. (Ibid.) There is no exception to this rule when a defendant, such as Thomas, moves to vacate a sentence on the ground that it is unauthorized. If “the fact that a sentence is unauthorized itself created jurisdiction in the trial court to change the sentence, a defendant could establish jurisdiction any…